Washington, DC - President Bush this morning will complete his definitive abandonment of comprehensive immigration reform by signing a flawed and politically-driven enforcement only Republican bill that mandates a fence on our southern border, but fails to fund its construction. The Republican Congress, in a political stunt designed to cater to the far right wing base of their party, authorized a border fence 700 miles long along a border that spans more than 2,000 miles, and even then appropriated only a small portion of the billions needed to build that fence. Adding to their hypocrisy in an election year, Congressional Republicans left in a provision that even allows small amounts of funding to be used on other programs.

WASHINGTON -- Today, the Benton Foundation and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) released four independent academic studies on the impact of media consolidation in the United States. The new research focuses on how the concentration of media ownership affects media content, from local news reporting to radio music programming, and how minority groups have fared -- as both media outlet owners and as historically underserved audiences -- in an increasingly deregulated media environment.

Washington, DC - According to a new government report, "overhead costs have consumed more than half the budget of some reconstruction projects in Iraq," meaning "that, in some cases, more money was being spent on housing and feeding employees, completing paperwork and providing security than on actual construction" in Iraq. The company with the highest proportion of its costs as overhead was "KBR Inc., the Halliburton subsidiary formerly known as Kellogg Brown & Root," which has a number of oil-facility contracts in Iraq. Most disturbing, the costs for many of the Iraqi reconstruction projects "could be even higher than the estimates, the report said" because the Republican-controlled Congress has not properly tracked the billions allocated for Iraq. [New York Times, 10/25/06]

DNC: Today in Iraq: The Latest News From the President's War of Choice; More troops means more targets for snipers in Iraq

Washington, DC - An article in today's USA Today reports that sniper attacks on U.S. solders in Baghdad have increased in recent months with 36 attacks in October up from the 23 attacks in September. Nearly 3,000 American troops have been killed so far in Iraq. Democrats reject President Bush's stay-the-course strategy and want a new direction in Iraq that takes the target off our troops backs and is both tough and smart.

Washington, DC - Today, President Bush will make remarks on the economy while visiting the Urban Trust Bank in Washington, DC. The President continues to deceive Americans when he says that the economy is growing stronger, as he fails to mention that the Bush Economy continues to benefit only the wealthiest Americans. By citing growth in the stock market, he ignores the fact that 10 percent of Americans own 80 percent of all stocks. [Economic Policy Institute, 10/11/06]

Today in Iraq: The Latest News From the President's War of ChoiceU.S. Death Toll for October Hits 86

Washington, DC - Today's Washington Post reports that at least 44 Iraqis and U.S. troops were killed in Iraq over the weekend in another surge of sectarian violence. Officials note that attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces have "increased more than 40 percent" since the middle of summer. Democrats have been joined by leading Generals and top Congressional Republicans in rejecting President Bush's failed stay-the-course strategy in Iraq and want a new direction that is both tough and smart.

Today in Iraq: The Latest News From the President's War of ChoiceU.S. Says Violence in Baghdad Rises, Foiling Campaign

Washington, DC - A report in today's Washington Post concludes that after three months, the Forward Together military operation that President Bush ordered has failed to reduce escalating violence in Iraq as intended. Democrats have been joined by leading Generals and top Congressional Republicans in rejecting President Bush's failed stay-the-course strategy in Iraq and want a new direction that is both tough and smart.

Washington, DC - Democrats denounced the RNC's latest fear and smear attack ad, as a desperate ploy to once again try to scare voters and distract from their failures on everything from the economy to the war in Iraq, their inability to handle a natural disaster, to the war on terror. Instead of offering voters any kind of positive vision for America, the RNC, realizing they have only repeated failures to run on, released a shameful ad invoking the image of despicable terrorists to scare the American people.

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Brazile: Missouri Voter ID Ruling Renews Importance of EAC Report Being Made Public

Washington, DC - This week, the Missouri Supreme Court dealt yet another blow to the Republican Party's efforts across the country to win elections by making it harder for Americans to vote. In a decisive 6-1 vote, the Missouri state court declared that the Republican-engineered voter ID law would have imposed a "heavy and substantial burden on Missourians' free exercise of the right of suffrage."

DNC: Today in Iraq: The Latest News From the President's War of Choice Coalition death toll in Iraq reaches 3,000

Washington, DC - Today, CNN reports that the coalition military death toll hit 3,000 in Iraq on Monday, including 2,759 Americans. The coalition forces reach this tragic landmark just days after a top British Army chief called on Britain to withdraw its troops, citing the foreign military presence as a factor aggravating violence in Iraq. Democrats reject President Bush's failed stay-the-course strategy in Iraq and want a new direction there that is both tough and smart.

Washington, DC - Yesterday on CNN, Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman gave evasive explanations on whether, while he served as Political Director in the Bush White House, he helped the clients of convicted former GOP superlobbyist Jack Abramoff by having a State Department employee fired. Three times during his interview, Mehlman said "I don't recall." [CNN, 10/15/06] Despite Mehlman's statement yesterday on CNN that he "let the decision makers make the decisions" on issues important to Abramoff's clients while he was White House Political Director, hundreds of pages of recently released emails tell a different story. In fact, Mehlman worked so closely with Abramoff that other White House staff asked Abramoff to "contact Ken only" when he needed assistance.